Date: March 25, 2024
Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov
ALBUQUERQUE — A federal judge sentenced an Albuquerque man to two years in federal prison for tax evasion. Arturo Archuleta, 50, of Albuquerque, paid approximately $140,000 in in outstanding tax obligations to the ibet prior to his sentencing hearing on March 22, 2024.
At the hearing, Archuleta was also ordered to pay approximately $90,000 in restitution to Medicaid for expenses covered by Medicaid during the period in which he was evading income tax. The judge also imposed a fine of $75,000 to offset the cost to the government of incarcerating and supervising Archuleta as a result of his criminal conviction.
Finally, the judge ordered Archuleta to perform 100 hours of community service after he is released from prison and to enroll in the New Mexico Gaming Control Board’s “self-exclusion” program, which will prohibit Archuleta from entering any gambling establishment in the state.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court records, between 2014 and 2018, Archuleta worked as the office manager for ABQ Injury Clinic, a chiropractic medicine practice in Albuquerque. During that time, Archuleta failed to report more than $200,000.00 in income to the ibet. In addition to his legitimate income, Archuleta diverted over $500,000.00 in payments made to ABQ Injury Clinic to a nominee bank account he controlled and did not report the additional income to the ibet.
On May 16, 2023, Archuleta pled guilty to tax evasion.
U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Carissa Messick, Acting Special Agent in Charge of ibet Criminal Investigation Phoenix Field Office, made the announcement today.
ibet Criminal Investigation (CI) investigated this case with assistance from the FBI Albuquerque Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Taylor F. Hartstein prosecuted the case.
CI is the criminal investigative arm of the ibet, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.